A microlight pilot who set off to fly from the UK to Australia for charity has been killed on the first leg of his journey.

Martin Bromage took off yesterday morning from Gloucestershire airport but flew into thick fog over the Channel and lost touch with his ground crew.

His body was later recovered 20 miles off the coast of France.

In interviews before he left Bromage, a 49-year-old father of two, said it was important to be able to both read the weather conditions and land quickly if trouble arose.

The tree surgeon had a life raft, life jacket and emergency locator on board and said he had undergone training in maritime and desert survival but one of the biggest challenges would be staying alert as he flew up to eight hours a day.

The 11,000-mile flight was expected to take six to eight weeks. After France he was heading across Europe to Greece, followed by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.

Staff at Gloucestershire airport raised the alarm when a signal from Bromage's microlight suddenly stopped.

They alerted RAF Kinloss and two patrol vessels were sent to search the area. They confirmed that a body had been recovered and was being taken to the French mainland.

Barry Woodward, of Dover Coastguard, said: "The problem seems to have been the thick fog which developed over the Channel as Mr Bromage was flying across.

"There was fog along the French coast most of the day yesterday although it was clear on the English coast when Mr Bromage flew over.

"The fog came in midway across the Channel during his flight and we had reports from our colleagues just to the west of Calais that they were receiving requests from a light aircraft that was diverting continuously because he couldn't find an airfield that was clear.

"Then they lost contact with him. Unfortunately for the same reason that he was in difficulty, the thickness of the fog, we could not fly from either side of the Channel to look for him.

"It is very tragic that he should be killed during the very first stage of such a commendable charity flight and our thoughts are with his family and supporters."

Bromage had been aiming to raise £150,000 for the soldiers' charity Help for Heroes and had spent months working out his route.

Experienced in outdoor sports, he spent many years racing motorcycles, scuba diving, white-water kayaking, mountaineering and rock climbing and had circumnavigated the British Isles four times by microlight. Last year he flew unsupported from Gloucester to Portugal.

Shortly before taking off Bromage said: "I have done a few adventurous trips in Europe in the microlight, and I just thought to myself, why not push it that bit further?"

He began flying paragliders but after a bad accident switched to microlights and had been flying them for about eight years.

"There is a real sense of freedom, you can feel the wind and smell the atmosphere which you can't do in an enclosed cockpit."

He was, however, aware of the risks of his trip: "The challenges will be many and varied including some enormous open-water crossings over shark-infested seas, extreme weather conditions and overflying some of the most hostile terrain in the world.

"There will also be significant logistical, bureaucratic and political obstacles to overcome."